Packaging device for sheet materials

ABSTRACT

A device is disclosed for packaging a stack or stacks of sheet articles such as sheets of glass. The device comprises a rectangular frame formed of two L-shaped sections and is positioned around a stack of sheet articles. A panel or floor member is disposed between one side of the frame and a face of the stack so that the edges of the sheet articles of the stack rest upon the floor member. On both ends of the floor member there are mounted stops which abut faces of the stack to prevent movement of the stack with respect to the frame. Protective panels may also be mounted on the frame to extend over at least a portion of a face of the stack to protect or to enclose the packaged sheets. The L-shaped sections of the frame may be assembled in various positions so as to vary the dimensions of the opening of the frame to accommodate stacks of various crosssectional areas. The package may also comprise two or more frames with each frame made of a U-shaped section and a crosspiece to bridge the open ends of this section.

United States Patent Castiaun [54] PACKAGING DEVICE FOR SHEET MATERIALS[72] lnventor:

[73] Assignee: Glaverbel, Watermael-Boitsfort, Belgium [22] Filed: Oct.29, 1969 [21] Appl.No.: 872,149

Marcel Castiaux, Roux, Belgium [30] Foreign Application Priority DataNov. 6, 1968 Great Britain ..52,574/68 [52] U.S.Cl. ..206/62 R,217/36R[51] Int. Cl ..B65d 85/46 [58] Field of Search ..206/60, 60 A, 62, 65 B,65 R, 206/46 FN, 46 FR, 46 H, 46 LM, 46 R; 214/105;

217/36, 43; 220/4 R, 4 E; 229/23 C [56] References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS 756,260 4/1904 Miller et a1 ..217/43 X 1,446,100 2/1923 Morris..217/36 UX 2,688,398 9/1954 Humphreys.... .....206/62 2,738,058 3/1956Hansen et a1. .....206/62 2,811,249 10/1957 Swain et a1 ..206/62Feb.29,1972

3,099,351 7/1963 Coffey, Jr ..217/36 UX 3,209,905 10/1965 Kean, Sr...206/62 3,416,652 12/1968 Almasy ..206/60 FOREIGN PATENTS ORAPPLICATIONS 68,857 1969 Germany ..206/62 R Primary Examiner-Joseph R.Leclair Assistant Examiner-Steven E. Lipman Att0rney-Edmund M.Jaskiewicz [5 7] ABSTRACT A device is disclosed for packaging a stack orstacks of sheet articles such as sheets of glass. The device comprises arectangular frame formed of two L-shaped sections and is positionedaround a stack of sheet articles. A panel or floor member is disposedbetween one side of the frame and a face of the stack so that the edgesof the sheet articles of the stack rest upon the floor member. On bothends of the floor member there are mounted stops which abut faces of thestack to prevent movement of the stack with respect to the frame.Protective panels may also be mounted on the frame to extend over atleast a portion of a face of the stack to protect or to enclose thepackaged sheets. The L-shaped sections of the frame may be assembled invarious positions so as to vary the dimensions of the opening of theframe to accommodate stacks of various cross-sectional areas. Thepackage may also comprise two or more frames with each frame made of aU-shaped section and a crosspiece to bridge the open ends of thissection.

9 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures 1 1 I i ,t i l I i i i i 5 PATENTEDFEB29 m2SHEET 2 OF 5 INVENTOR MARCEL CASTIAUX BY Mfi/ ATTORNEY PATENTEDFEBZSI972 SHEET 3 BF 5 INVENTOR -MARCEL CASTIAUX ATTORNEY PAIENTEDFEBZQ I972SHEET m [If 5 INVENTOR MARCEL CASTIAUX ATTORNEY PATENTEDFEBZS I972 3,645,389

saw s 0F 5 35 39 k -1 F'fiJd INVENTOR MARCE L CASTIAUX PACKAGING DEVICEFOR SHEET MATERIALS The present invention relates to the packaging ofsheet articles, more particularly, to a packaging device for the storageand transportation of stacks of sheet articles.

The storage and shipping of sheets of glass poses a number of problemsbecause of the inherent fragile nature of glass. In devising solutionsto these problems particular consideration must be given to the costsinvolved. It is desirable to package sheets of glass so as to minimizethe risk of breakage during shipment or storage while at the same timepackaging should be economical with respect to both the cost of thepackaging material and the cost of the labor necessary to carry out thepackaging operation. Furthermore, the packages of glass should be suchthat they can be stacked upon each other during storage and shipment soas to most efiiciently utilize space. While the relatively fragilenature of glass must always be carefully considered the aboveconsiderations also apply to the packaging of other sheet articles.

A large number of packaging devices involving a variety of differentstructures have been proposed in an attempt to obtain effective andreliable packaging of glass and other fragile sheet articles. Many ofthe proposed packaging devices are containers containing straw or otherloose packaging material for cushioning the sheet articles placed withinthe containers. Such containers have the disadvantage of being tooexpensive for storing large quantities of glass in warehouses and thelike and the packing of glass sheets in such containers is an opera tioninvolving considerable skill. In addition, the size of the containermust conform to the size of the sheet articles being packed so that itbecomes difficult to standardize the container sizes when there is awide range of sizes in the sheet articles which are to be packed.

Another form of packaging device generally comprises clamping frames forclamping stacks of sheet articles. Such clamping frames are preferredover the above-mentioned containers since they are relativelyinexpensive and can be easily and quickly applied to the stacks of sheetarticles. However, such clamping frames have the disadvantages of notproviding sufficient protection against damage to the fragile sheetsduring shipment unless special provisions are made for loading thepackages in the transport vehicles or supplementary packaging is used.

It is therefore the principal objection of the present invention toprovide a novel and improved packaging device for a stack or stacks ofsheet articles.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a packagingdevice for sheets of glass which is inexpensive, and can be quickly andreadily assembled by relatively unskilled labor.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a packagingdevice for sheets of glass which comprises a minimum of components butadequately protects the sheets of glass during shipment and storage andpermits such packages of glass sheets to be stacked so as to occupy aminimum of space.

A packaging device according to the present invention may comprise aframe assembled from two L-shaped sections so as to have a rectangularopening within which is positioned a stack of glass sheets. The L-shapedsections may be positioned with respect to each other so as to vary thedimensions of the rectangular frame opening so as to accommodatedifferent sizes and shapes of stacks of glass sheets. A floor member orpanel is attached to the frame so as to support edges of the sheetscomprising the stack. Stop means are mounted on the floor panel to bearagainst the ends of the stack and to prevent movement of the stack withrespect to the frame.

Protective panels may also be attached to the frame so as to cover atleast portions of faces of the stack of glass sheets. These panels maycomprise a number of parallel elongated elements extending in differentdirections.

The packaging device may also hold several stacks of glass sheets withthe stacks being vertically positioned in edgewise relationship and alongitudinal panel inserted between the vertical stacks.

In an alternate form of frame construction a frame may comprise aU-shaped section and a straight bar to bridge the U-shaped section so asto form a rectangular frame in which one dimension is defined by theposition at which the straight bar is connected across the parallel armsof the U-shaped section.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentupon reference to the accompanying description when taken in conjunctionwith the following drawings, which are exemplary, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an overall respective view of the packaging device accordingto the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a section of one of the frames in the device ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a section of the frame complementary to thesection shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line V-V of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an end elevational view of the packaging device shown in FIG.1;

FIG. 7 is a front elevational view of an end of the packaging device ofFIG. 1 but being provided with end panels;

FIG. 8 is an overall perspective view of another form of a packagingdevice according to the present invention; and

FIGS. 9 to II are front elevational views of three additional forms ofpackaging devices according, to the present invention.

Proceeding next to the drawings wherein like reference symbols indicatethe same parts throughout the various views a specific embodiment andseveral modifications of the present invention will be described indetail.

As may be seen in FIG. I a stack ll of sheet articles which are securedwithin the packaging device of the present invention is indicated indash lines. The stack is illustrated as being a rectangularparallelepiped but it is to be understood the stack may include sheetsof various dimensions.

The packaging device comprises two substantially rectangular frames witheach frame having two IL-shaped sections 2, as shown in detail in FIGS.2 and 3, and 17, as shown in detail in FIGS. 4 and 5. Each frame has arectangular opening with at least one dimensions being greater than thecorresponding dimension of the stack 1.

Each L-shaped section 2 has a main arm 3 which may be formed from a longwooden member having a rectangular cross section and a secondary armformed from two flat wooden members 4 and 4' each having a rectangularcross section. The flat members 4 and 4' are attached on opposite sidesof one end of the main arm 3 so that their ends extend outwardly of themain arm as may be seen in FIG. I.

A wooden floor panel 6 having a rectangular cross section is secured tothe inner edges of the flat members 4 and 4'. The floor panel 6 haslongitudinal edges 7 and 9 and opposed recesses 8 and are formed in therespective edges 7 and 9. The recesses have sufficient width to closelyaccommodate the main frame arms 3.

At the ends 11 and 12 of the floor panel member 6 there are positionedrectangular wooden plates or blocks 13 and 14 respectively to providesstops for the: opposing ends of the stack 1. Where the sheets are all ofthe same length and this length corresponds with the space between thestops 13 and 14, every sheet will be held securely against slidingmovement with respect to the frame and to the other sheets of the stack.Such sliding movement of individual sheets may occur duringtransportation of the sheets by road or by rail unless the sheets areclamped together under a very high pressure. For certain types of sheetarticles such high clamping pressure is undesirable. Even when thesheets of a stack are of unequal lengths the stops will preventdisplacement of any sheet from the frame or frames. One stop may be usedfor limiting movement of the sheets in one direction. The inner surfacesof the frame components 3 may be covered with strips 15 of syntheticplastic material such as lsorel covers the top surface of the floormember 6. The length of the frame components 3 is at least equal to orgreater than the with of the widest sheets in the stack 1. The length ofthe members 4 and 4' is greater than the width of the floor member 6.The lateral distance between the bottoms of the recesses 8 and 10 isequal to or less than the thickness of the stack 1.

Each L-shaped frame section 17 is provided with a main arm 18 formed ofa long wooden member having a rectangular cross section and a secondaryarm formed of two straight wooden members 19 and 19 each having arectangular cross section. The members 19 and 19' are attached toopposite sides of one end of the long member 18. The member 18 has thesame dimensions as the long members 3 of the L-shaped frame sections 2.The members 19 and 19 are the same as the members 4 and 4 of the framesections 2 except they are shorter as may be seen in FIG. 1. The lengthof the members 19 and 19' is equal to or slightly less than the width ofthe floor member 6. A strip of synthetic plastic material 20 such aspolystyrene covers the inner face of the long member 18.

As may be seen in FIG. 1, each pair of L-shaped frame sections 2 and 17are connected in mutually inverted relationship by means of steel bands21 and 22 extending along the bottom and top respectively of the frame.The end portions of the steel bands are bent at right angles to thecentral portions of the bands and are attached such as by nails to theouter faces of the long members 3 and 18.

The two frames of the packaging device surrounding the stack 1 are alsoconnected together by a top panel 23 having a rectangular cross sectionand the same dimensions as floor panel 6.

It will be apparent that the components of each frame may be connectedtogether by suitable fastening means in different relative positions toform rectangular frame openings of different sizes. Stacks of sheetarticles having different depths as measured normally to the sheetarticles can thus be secured in the frames without the necessity of padsor other cushion material between the frames and the stack. However,such pads or cushions may be employed and pressure plates may beadjustably mounted on the frames so that clamping pressure may beexerted through the plates against the stack.

By forming the members 4 and 4' so as to extend outwardly beyond theirconnection points to the long arms 3 and 18 will improve the stabilityof the package when positioned on the floor with the extended frame sideat the bottom.

The sides of each frame may be formed by bars obtained from lengths ofmaterial of uniform cross section so as to facilitate the massproduction of such frames in a range of sizes. The wooden components ofthe frames may be assembled merely by nailing.

In packaging a stack of sheet articles with the packaging device of thepresent invention the floor panel member 6 is secured to the horizontalarms 4 and 4' of frame sections 2 with the vertical arms 3 of thesesections being positioned in the recesses 8. The sections 2 are slightlytilted and the sheets to be packaged are placed edgewise on the floorpanel 6 in side by side relationship against the long members 3. Theexposed face of the outermost sheet is indicated at 24 and contacts thesynthetic plastic strips 15 on the inner faces of the member '3. Thebottom edges of the sheets rest on the synthetic plastic covering 16 onthe floor panel 6.

The complementary frame sections 17 are then positioned with the longmembers 18 inserted between the horizontal arms 4 and 4' of the framesections 2 and into the recesses 10 of the floor panel 6. The long arms3 of the sections 2 being inserted between the straight top members 19and 19 of the frame sections 17. The frame sections 17 are held inposition by the steel bands 21 and 22 with the plastic strips 20 on theinner faces of the members 18 being in close contact against theopposite face 25 of the stack 1. To complete the packaging operation,the top panel 23 is then fastened to the top sides of the frames.

In order to lift the packaged stack of sheets for storage or shippingslings are passed under the floor member 6 near the frames. When theslings are tightened, they become positioned in the angles between theframe members 4 and the floor panel 6.

In order to remove the stack 1 from the package, the top panel 23 isremoved and the steel bands 21 and 22 unfastened from the long members18. The L-shaped frame sections 17 are then removed and the sheets arethen accessible. The en tire package may be first tilted slightlyrearwardly in order to prevent the sheets from falling forwardly fromthe frame sections 2.

If only a few sheets are to be removed from the package stack 1, the toppanel 23 is removed, the steel bands 21 and 22 are unfastened from thelong members 18 and one of stops 13 and 14 is removed from the floorpanel 6. The frame sections 17 are then moved in a direction away fromthe frame sections 2 in the recesses 10 so as to relieve the clampingpressure on the stack 1. The required individual sheets can then be slidfrom the stack. The frame sections 17 can then be reassembled into theiroriginal positions to exert a clamping pressure on the thinner stackformed by the remaining sheets.

Individual sheets may be removed from the stack without disassemblingthe frames or removing the top panel 23 merely by removing the paddingstrips 15 and 20 so as to decrease the clamping pressure exerted againstthe stack.

It is generally preferable to stack the sheets and to remove them whilethe frame sections such as sections 2 are positioned with their longerarms 3 horizontal as shown in FIG. 2. The sheets are laid flat on thesides 3 so as to avoid any risk of the sheets falling over.

The packaging device as described above embodies a simple constructionwhich at the same time provides high degree of security and protectionto the packaged sheets. However, it may-be desirable to enclosecompletely the sheets or to cover one or more sides of the stack withprotective panels which might be secured to the frames.

Proceeding next to FIG. 6 there is shown a modification of the packagingdevice as described above wherein panel 26 are provided to protect theside faces 24 and 25 of the stack 1. The panels 26 have a length equalto that of the floor and top panels 6 and 23 and a width equal to theheight of the package above the bottom members 4 and 4 of the frames.The side panels 26 are secured to the outer faces of the long members 3and 18 of the frames and to the edges of the floor and top panels 6 and23 by nails, screws, clips or other suitable fastening means. The panels26 may be made from a number of assembled wooden planks or of a lighterbut sufficiently rigid sheet materials such as Unalit or Linex.

The packaging device illustrated in FIG. 7 is similar to thatillustrated in FIG. 1 and described above but is provided with endpanels 27. The height of the end panels is equal to the height of thepackage above the bottom members 4 and 4 of the frames and their widthis equal to the width of the floor and top panels 6 and 23. The endpanels are secured to the ends of the floor and top panels by nails,screws, clips or other suitable fastening elements.

It is pointed out that the protective panels of FIGS. 6 and 7 and insubsequent FIGS. to be described do not function to hold the sheetstogether in a stack but are solely protective. While all sides of thepackaged stack may be covered with such protective panels to form acomplete container the sheets will still be held together by the framesand prevented from movement with respect to the frames by the stopmembers. Since the packaging of the sheet articles is not dependent uponthe panels the number and arrangement of the panels is open to a widerange of choice in view of particular circumstances. To facilitate themounting of protective panels onto a packaged stack of sheets the framesshould be constructed with flat outer surfaces.

A protecting panel as described above which protects at least a portionof a face of a stack held in the frames may be used for connecting tothe frames a stop for preventing displacement of the frames along thepackages sheets in a given direction.

Proceeding next to FIG. 8 there is illustrated another form of packagingdevice according to the present invention. The packaging devicecomprises a single wooden frame 28 composed of uprights 29 and 30 nailedto bottom and top transverse member 31 and 32. A floor panel 33 extendsthrough the frame and supports the edges of the sheets of the stack 1.The floor panel is nailed to the transverse member 31 of the frame.Transverse supporting blocks 34 and 35 are nailed to the underside ofthe floor panel 31 near its ends so that the package may be stable whenpositioned on the floor as illustrated in FIG. 8. End stops 36 and 39are nailed to the upper surface of the floor panel 31 to preventrelative longitudinal displacement of the stack 1 with respect to thefloor panel 33 and the frame 28. The connection of the stop 36 to thefloor panel 33 is strengthened by end plates 37 and 38 which are nailedto the ends of the stop 36 and to the longitudinal edges of the floorpanel. These end plates extend over the bottom corner portions of theouter sheets of the stack 1 to provide additional protection for theseportions. Similar end plates 40 and 41 are mounted at the other end ofthe floor panel 33 in association with the stop 39.

In packaging a number of sheet articles in the packaging device of FIG.3, the side members 29 and 30 and the bottom transverse member 31 of theframe 28 are first assembled. The floor panel 33 together with itssupporting blocks 34 and 35 is next attached in position on top of thetransverse member 31. The individual sheets are then assembled in theresulting U shaped frame section. When all of the sheets have beenpositioned within the U-shaped frame, the top transverse member 32 isthen secured in position as shown in the drawing.

Additional protection to the stack may be obtained by in sertingprotective panels 67 and 68 between the side frame members 29 and 30 andthe stack. These protective panels have the same dimensions as thepackaged sheet articles and may be made of compressed fibrous materials.

The stops 36 and 39 may be mounted either on the floor panel 33 beforepositioning the sheets on the floor panel or one or both stops can bemounted in place after the stack of sheets has been assembled.

In an alternate packaging operation the sheets are assembled flat on ahorizontally disposed side member 29 of an L- shaped frame sectionformed by the side member 29 and the bottom transverse member 31.Subsequently, the other frame members 30 and 32 are then connected toform the frame 23.

When it is desired to remove one or more sheets from the stack, it isonly necessary to remove an end stop 36 or 39 and then slide the desiredsheets outwardly from the frame. One or more supporting rollers 42rotatably mounted on a base 413 may be provided to support these sheetsas they are slid from the stack.

It can be seen that the stop members 36 and 39 extend along the angleformed by the edges of the sheets in stack 1 and a protecting panelcontacting adjoining edges of the sheets. In a modification of FIG. 3the protecting panel comprises the floor panel 33 and the stop members36 and 39 contact the vertical edges of the sheets when the package ispositioned as shown in FIG. 8. The addition of the protective plates 37and 38 together with the stop member 36 adds significant protection tothe adjacent corner portions of the outermost sheets of the stack. Thecost of adding these protective plates is only negligible but thepresence of the plates provides a considerable degree of protection whenso desired.

In FIGS. 9 and there are illustrated further modifications of thepackaging device of the present invention with the device being of aconstruction similar to that shown in FIG. 3. In FIG. 9 there are twostacks 1 and 1'- of sheet articles supported on the floor panel 33 withthe stacks being held by the frames 23' and 28 respectively. A spacersheet S which may be resilient is sandwiched between the adjacent endfaces of the two stacks. Reinforcing pieces 33 are attached to theundersurface of floor panel 33 to provide additional support for theslings used in lifting the package.

In FIG. 10, there is shown a package in which there are assembled threestacks of sheets designated as 1 1 and 1". Stack 1 comprises sheetswhose length is slightly less than the floor panel 33 and stacks 1 and 1are composed of shorter sheets which are assembled in alignment over thestack 1 A longitudinally extending horizontal panel M is interposedbetween the bottom stack 1 and the two upper stacks 1 and II". Theintermediate panel 414 is provided with stops t5 and 46 on itsundersurface with the stops extending across the end edges of the sheetsof stack 1 at the upper portions of these sheets. The intermediate panel414 also carries end stops t7 and 48 on the upper surface thereof toextend across the outer end edges of sheets of the upper stacks 1 and 1.The stops 45 through 48 prevent relative longitudinal displacementbetween the intermediate panel 4-4 and the three stacks of sheetarticles.

The intermediate panel 44 may also be nailed to the upright side membersof the frames 28' and 23". The connections between the stops 35- 18 andthe intermediate panel 44 may be strengthened by the protective sideplates 49 and 5th with there being another pair of such protectiveplates on the op posite side of the package. These protective plates arenailed to the ends of the stops and to the longitudinal edges of theintermediate panel and extend over the adjacent corner portions of theoutermost sheets of the stacks to provide additional pro tection tothese sheets.

A top panel 51 is nailed to the top members of the frames 28 and 23" toprotect the top edges of the sheets of the upper stacks 1 and 1". Oneach side of the package there is a board 52 nailed to the side edges offloor panel 33 and the top panel 51 at such a position to cover theinner end portions of the outerrnost sheets of the upper stacks. One ormore of such pair of boards 52 can also be used in a package containingonly one stack or containing two vertically positioned stacks. A packingsheet 69 may be interposed between the two upper stacks.

The modified package shown in FIG. 11 is similar to that shown in FIG. 1and retains a stack of sheets 1 within two vertical frames 51 and 51'each composed of vertical side mem' bers 52 and top and bottomtransverse members 53 and 5 1. Each of the members 53 and 54 comprisestwo components located on opposite sides of vertical members 52 with thecomponents 52, 53 and 54 being nailed together in this relationship. Afloor panel 55 extends through the frames and is nailed to the top edgesof the bottom members 54 of the frames. At one end of the floor panel 55is an end stop 56 having lateral protecting plates 57 and at the otherend there is a similar end stop 58 with protective plates 59. A toppanel 60 is nailed to the top members 54 of the frames and completelycovers the top of the stack 1. A transverse piece 72 is attached to theinner edges of the vertical frame members 52 in a position so as tocontact the upper edge of the stack and thus prevent the packaged sheetsfrom tilting in the frames in the event that the sheets are suddenlythrust against a stop 56 or 58 such as may occur from a sudden brakingof a vehicle carrying the packaged sheets.

The package of FIG. 11 is further provided with protective panels tostrengthen the packaged assembly and to provide addition protection tothe sheets. One such protective panel is indicated at 70 and comprises alattice structure of vertical boards 61 nd cross pieces 62. The verticalboards 61 are fastened to the side edges of the floor panel 55 and thetop panel 60. That portion of the stack 1 projecting outwardly from theframe 51' is protected at its sides by side walls or panels 71 similarlyformed of a plurality of vertically spaced horizontal strips 64 securedin spaced relationship to vertical boards 63 which are also connected tothe floor panel 55 and top panel 60. The protecting panels 70 and 71 aresubstantially in the plane of the vertical side members 52 of the frames51 and 51'. This other end portion of the stack 1 can also be protectedby a similar or different arrangement of boards or panels. The ends ofstack 1 are protected by end panels 65 and 66 which are secured to theend edges of the floor panel 55 and the top panel 60.

It is preferable for different portions of one face of a stack to beprotected by elongated panels extending in different directions asillustrated in FIG. 11 since such a structure imparts greater strengthto the packaging device.

It is pointed out that the frames of FIG. 1 and P16. 11 comprisecomplementary frame sections whose adjacent sides may be made uprespectively of an even and odd number of pieces so that the piece orpieces of one side may fit between the pieces of the other side at thecorresponding corner of the frame. The L-shaped frame section asemployed in the present invention can be formed from three rectangularbars with two bars being parallel and forming one arm of the L while thethird bar has an end connected between the two parallel members to formthe other arm of the L. In this manner two identical L-shaped sectionsare formed which may be easily connected together in invertedrelationship with the single bar or each section fitting between thedouble bars of the other section.

This it can be seen that the present invention has disclosed a packagingdevice for sheet articles, such as sheets of glass, wherein a number ofsheets are assembled in face-to-face relationship to form a stack andthe stack is held within one or more substantially rectangular frames. Aprotective panel which is attached within the frames supports one edgeof the stack and at the same time has stop members at its ends so as toprevent any longitudinal displacement of the stack with respect to theframes or floor panel. Such a package of sheet articles may becompletely enclosed by protective panels so as to form a container butit is emphasized that these panels merely enclose the sheets and are notstructural elements of the packaging device.

The packaging device of the subject invention is simple in structure,may be readily assembled at a minimum of cost in both materials andlabor but properly protects sheets of glass and other fragile articlesboth during shipment and storage.

It will be understood that this invention is subject to modification inorder to adapt it to different uses and conditions.

What is claimed is:

1. A packaging device for a stack of sheet articles comprising a frameincluding at least two L-shaped sections, each section comprising firstand second arms, the first arms having slot means therein, the secondarms of each L-shaped section being received in its respective slotmeans and being secured therein, said L-shaped sections being oppositelydisposed around a stack of sheet articles such that the sheets arepressed against each other, the second arm of at least one of saidL-shaped sections being received in the slot means of the opposedL-shaped section and being slideable therein for varying the relativedimensions of said frame, stop means engaging opposed faces of saidstack and limiting movement of the sheet articles outwardly for saidframe, and panel means supporting another face of said stack andinterconnecting said stop means and the first am of at least one of saidL-shaped sections.

2. A packaging device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said L- shapedsections define a rectangular opening, said sections being connectableto vary the two dimensions of the rectangular frame opening.

3. A packaging device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the first arm of atleast one said L-shaped sections extends beyond its connection with theadjoining L-shaped section to protrude outwardly of said frame.

4. A packaging device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said panel meansinterconnecting said stop means and said frame is a protecting panel onsaid packaging device extending over at least a portion of a face of thestack of sheet articles within the packaging device.

5. A packaging device as claimed in claim 4 wherein said panel isbetween the frame and the stack of sheet articles within the packagingdevice.

6. A packaging device as claimed in claim 5 wherein said panel hasrecesses in the edges thereof receiving a portion of at least one ofsaid L-shaped sections which are perpendicular to said panel.

7. A packaging device as claimed in claim 1 and comprising rectangularopening has one dimension greater than the cor-' responding dimension ofthe stack positioned within the frame.

9. A packaging device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said articles aresheets of glass.

1. A packaging device for a stack of sheet articles comprising a frameincluding at least two L-shaped sections, each section comprising firstand second arms, the first arms having slot means therein, the secondarms of each L-shaped section being received in its respective slotmeans and being secured therein, said L-shaped sections being oppositelydisposed around a stack of sheet articles such that the sheets arepressed against each other, the second arm of at least one of saidL-shaped sections being received in the slot means of the opposedL-shaped section and being slideable therein for varying the relativedimensions of said frame, stop means engaging opposed faces of saidstack and limiting movement of the sheet articles outwardly for saidframe, and panel means supporting another face of said stack andinterconnecting said stop means and the first arm of at least one ofsaid L-shaped sections.
 2. A packaging device as claimed in claim 1wherein said L-shaped sections define a rectangular opening, saidsections being connectable to vary the two dimensions of the rectangularframe opening.
 3. A packaging device as claimed in claim 1 wherein thefirst arm of at least one said L-shaped sections extends beyond itsconnection with the adjoining L-shaped section to protrude outwardly ofsaid frame.
 4. A packaging device as claimed in claim 1 wherein saidpanel means interconnecting said stop means and said frame is aprotecting panel on said packaging device extending over at least aportion of a face of the stack of sheet articles within the packagingdevice.
 5. A packaging device as claimed in claim 4 wherein said panelis between the frame and the stack of sheet articles within thepackaging device.
 6. A packaging device as claimed in claim 5 whereinsaid panel has recesses in the edges thereof receiving a portion of atleast one of said L-shaped sections which are perpendicular to saidpanel.
 7. A packaging device as claimed in claim 1 and comprising apanel connected between said stop means and said L-shaped sections andextending over a portion of a face of the stack of sheet articles andprotecting same, said stop means contacting the edges of the sheetswhich comprises the protected face.
 8. A packaging device as claimed inclaim 2 wherein said rectangular opening has one dimension greater thanthe corresponding dimension of the stack positioned within the frame. 9.A packaging device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said articles aresheets of glass.